Poison Princess: Arcana Chronicles, Book 1

She could save the world - or destroy it. Sixteen-year-old Evangeline 'Evie' Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future - and they're still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux. But she can't do either alone.

Delirium

"Ninety-five days, and then I'll be safe. I wonder whether the procedure will hurt. I want to get it over with. It's hard to be patient. It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet. Still, I worry. They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't."

Yes, and I've read other Lauren Oliver books that I liked much better. I just think the concept of this was not well thought out or entirely convincing.

Would you recommend Delirium to your friends? Why or why not?

No. I mean, trying to cut love out of your brain as the concept sounds cool until you think too much about it, and then you're like, "uhhh, what?"

Did Delirium inspire you to do anything?

No :(

Any additional comments?

Not a bad story, just didn't hold my attention. I feel like there was a ton of backstory and history that writer maybe wanted to inlcude, but didn't end up having the space for it. And knowing more of how and why this world came to be would have been really helpful at creating more tension. As readers we all know that love can't be chopped out of your brain, but this world of people believed it was possible...and I just couldn't connect with that.

Charming the Shrew: The Legacy of MacLeod Series, Book 1

Returning to the Scottish Highlands after a fierce battle with the English, Tayg Munro receives a hero’s welcome - and an ultimatum. To take his place as heir to the chiefdom, he must choose a wife or have one chosen for him. Furious and stalling for time, the brooding warrior volunteers for a mission that takes him deep into the Highlands, with no hint of the fateful encounter that awaits him.... Catriona MacLeod is known as the Shrew of Assynt, thanks to her razor-sharp tongue and her unwillingness to yield to her five brothers. When she learns that her eldest brother has promised her hand in marriage to a loathsome man, she flees....

I loved that both Kat and Tayg were forced to be people they didn't want to be by circumstance and family, but when they came together they were able to drop the titles of "shrew" and "hero" and just be themselves.

What did you like best about this story?

The setting was fantastic. I really got a sense of the Highlands in that famous era, and the terrible weather!

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene in which Tayg the Bard makes up an accidentally humiliating song about a homely woman at Kat's insistence.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending :)

Any additional comments?

The narration really made this fun. I can't do the accents half so well in my head, you ken?

Skinny

Hopeless. Freak. Elephant. Pitiful. These are the words of Skinny, the vicious voice that lives inside 15-year-old Ever Davies's head. Skinny tells Ever all the dark thoughts her classmates have about her. Ever knows she weighs over 300 pounds, knows she'll probably never be loved, and Skinny makes sure she never forgets it. But there is another voice: Ever's singing voice, which is beautiful but has been silenced by Skinny. Ever decides to undergo a risky surgery that may help her lose weight and start over.

Honor's Splendour

In the feuding English court, gentle Lady Madelyne suffered the cruel whims of her ruthless brother, Baron Louddon. Then, in vengeance for a bitter crime, Baron Duncan of Wexton—the Wolf—unleashed his warriors against Louddon's domain. Exquisite Madelyne was the prize he catured...but when he gazed upon the proud beauty, he pledged to protect her with his life.

Unwind

Conner's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance.

Lev was my favorite character. He changes the most from beginning to end. From Tithe to Terrible.

Which scene was your favorite?

The Unwinding scene was my favorite - really well done, and well read. We've been hearing about Unwinding for hours, but at this point you get a first person account of what it's like to actually be "unwound."

Speechless

Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can't keep a secret.... Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast - and nearly got someone killed. Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence - to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse. But there's strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way - people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she's done.

It's a great concept - the biggest gossip in school taking a vow of silence. Full of Chelsea's snarky internal dialog, which comes across perfectly in the audio-book version.

What other book might you compare Speechless to and why?

A little bit like Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. But much more lighthearted.

What does Emily Bauer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Again - the snarky inner dialog of the main character, Chelsea, was almost written to be read into your ears. Emily Bauer did a great job bringing the sarcasm, compassion, and insecurities of Chelsea to life.

Die for Me

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything. Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent. Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.

Hex Hall: Hex Hall Series, Book 1

On her 12th birthday, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. Three bumpy years later, after a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, she's exiled to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. By the end of her first day, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus.

Royal Exile: Book One of the Valisar Trilogy

From out of the East they came, riding like a merciless plague - destroying kingdom after kingdom and the sovereigns who had previously mocked the warlord Loethar and his barbarian horde. Now only one land remains unconquered... the largest, richest, and most powerful realm of the Denova Set: Penraven. > The Valisar royals of Penraven face certain death, for the savage tyrant Loethar covets what they alone possess: the fabled Valisar Enchantment....

The Story of Beautiful Girl

It is 1968. Lynnie, a young white woman with a developmental disability, and Homan, an African American deaf man, are locked away in an institution: the School for the Incurable and Feebleminded, and have been left to languish, forgotten. Deeply in love, they escape, and find refuge in the farmhouse of Martha, a retired schoolteacher and widow. But the couple is not alone - Lynnie has just given birth to a baby girl. When the authorities catch up to them that same night, Homan escapes into the darkness, and Lynnie is caught.

A great, feel-good story about a young woman with a mental handicap, and her struggles in and out of a "school" for the disabled. A bit of history about the 70's and 80's institutions for the disabled, a bit of a coming of age story, and a lot about love in all it's forms.

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